One-Pot Recipes That Will Trick People into Thinking You Can Cook

When someone—your new bae, for example—hits you with the daunting “can you cook?” question, don’t panic. Instead, take a deep breath and familiarize yourself with the canon of single-pot recipes, the secret weapon of home cooks who don’t have to time, energy, or culinary skills to pull off a fancy three-course meal. For the most part, all you need to do is throw a bunch of delicious ingredients in a Crock-Pot or Dutch oven and let the magic happen.

Serving your guests Andrew Zimmern’s beef stew or Gourmet‘s slow-cooker chile con carne with biscuit topping is the ultimate power move. Plus, these recipes are great to have on hand when you want to have a date night with yourself and Netflix—especially since you won’t be left with huge mess in the kitchen.

Unlock your inner chef with these 14 fool-proof single-pot recipes.

Sausage and Lentil Stew

Recipe:BBC Good Food
Can you open a bottle of wine? Can you open a package of sausage? Good, then you can master this rich, meaty stew that's best mopped up with slices of crusty bread.

Chili Con Carne

Recipe:Gourmet
Who knew that the flavor-packed, homey chili you love could be made by tossing a few ingredients in a slow-cooker and just walking away? Well now you know. And did we mention this recipe includes a biscuit topping you can make in the same pot?

Sardinian-Style Paella

Recipe:Food and Wine
With this paella recipe, you can knock a slew of ingredients off your cooking bucket list. It has chorizo, fregola (a couscous-like pasta), red snapper, cockles, and mussels—and for such an impressive main course, it can be prepared surprisingly quickly.

Hoppin’ John

Recipe:Garden and Gun
The recipe for this Southern rice and black-eyed peas staple comes from New Orleans chef Stephen Stryjewski. Hoppin' John is the perfect way to spice up your regular dinner routine with some Lowcountry flavor.

Coq au Vin

Recipe:Ina Garten via Vikalinka
This coq au vin is one of those dishes that is good enough to serve for a fancy dinner yet doesn’t require much hands-on time. When you realize how easy this recipe is—and how much wine you get to put in it—it will quickly become one of your new favorites for entertaining.

Pork and Tomatillo Stew

Recipe:Food and Wine
The next time you get the urge to cook a Mexican feast, turn to this recipe. Using only a Dutch oven (or any big pot), you can create a rich stew that will satisfy your primal need to consume both tortilla chips and shredded pork.

Roast Chicken and Tortellini

Recipe: Eat at Home
This recipe has chicken, it has cheese, and it has pasta. Plus, it only has one pot for you to wash when you’re done. The genius thing about this recipe is: first you use a Dutch oven to roast a chicken until golden brown, then you add in tortellini to the pot along with tomatoes, artichoke hearts, water, and seasoning. See how your guests react when you drop that pot of goodness on the table.

Coconut Rice Shrimp Pilaf

Recipe:Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
This pilaf is just creative enough to sound like you spend all your free time experimenting in the kitchen, yet simple enough to execute quickly and easily (even if you avoid cooking like the plague). A combination of turmeric, garam masala, coconut milk, and cilantro lend the dish its complex flavor.

Farro with Tomatoes

Recipe:Smitten Kitchen
Tomato-basil anything is a tried and true crowd-pleaser; adding in a not-so-common grain like farro takes you to the next level of I-totally-know-what-I’m-doing cooking.

Beef Stew

Recipe:Andrew Zimmern
Chef Andrew Zimmern's beef stew recipe goes above and beyond the category of hearty comfort food. It's easy to execute and perfect for leftovers, and when you can (and will) refer to it as "Daube de Boeuf with Belgian Ale," you'll feel like you're fancy cooking with the best of 'em.

Garlic Chicken with Israeli Couscous

Recipe:The Little Ferraro Kitchen
This recipe leaves you with a colorful, flavorful pot of chicken that will make your guests think you snuck your grandma into the house to cook it for you. Seriously, just dump everything in the pot and enjoy telling everyone how much you enjoy "cooking with saffron."

Mexican Quinoa

Recipe:Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
Whether you turn this into a side dish or a main course, this quinoa recipe is healthy, easy, and—most importantly—looks almost too good to be homemade. The quinoa is flavored with a delicious combination of corn, black beans, jalapeños, and lime juice.

Cheesy Gnocchi with Broccoli and Chicken

Recipe:Pink Parsley
This recipe is like taking a trip back to your college days when it was socially acceptable to make mac and cheese everyday and even serve it to other people. Don’t worry, though, this cheesy gnocchi is that meal’s sophisticated cousin: still easy to make, but way more impressive.

Chicken with Potatoes, Prunes and Pomegranate Molasses

Recipe:Yotam Ottolenghi
There's nothing more to this Middle Eastern chicken recipe than throwing everything in a casserole dish and waiting. Yes, really. For the amount of work involved, the depth of flavor is remarkable. Serve with a green salad and some good bread to mop up the all the juices.

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